Page 10 of Wrapped Around My Heart
Ari chews on her bottom lip for a second, briefly glancing over her shoulder toward her car that’s parked on the street before facing me and nodding.
“Sure, why not? Better to keep busy so I’m not falling back into work.”
There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m grinning like a fool as Ari walks beside me. The walk to the park is filled with mindless chitchat about her work before we switch to talking about the team. Briefly, it dawns on me just how easy it is to fall into conversation with Arianna. She completely understands what I’m saying whether it’s about the game, practice, or anything hockey related. I know she grew up supporting her brother playing hockey, but the fact that she’s able to hold a real conversation without me having to stop and explain something is refreshing.
Not that I mind educating anyone about my sport when they ask. It’s just nice to be around someone who gets it and who isn’t one of the guys.
“The real question is, what team would you be okay losing to because you know they’re that good?”
I level her with an unamused, playful glare.
“I’m never okay with losing.” I turn my attention to Cora as she runs back to give me the tennis ball she found. “But if I had to pick one…”
“It’d be the Yetis, right?”
Laughing, I chuck the ball and nod. “Yeah. Since they rebranded from the Cougars, they’ve been killing it.”
Ari giggles, beating me at scooping up the ball once more, and throws it for Cora.
“Okay, next question. If you had to play a game in a different position than being goalie, which would you pick?”
“Defensemen,” I say without hesitation.
“That’s not surprising. You’d still be close enough to the net to stop a goal if needed.” She shakes her head, but the way the sun shines on her face momentarily distracts me. She bends down just as Cora returns. Instead of dropping the ball to be thrown, the pup plops down, lying on top of Ari’s feet, and pants heavily with the ball still in her mouth.
Arianna squats down, petting Cora, and smiles up at me.
“She’s hands down the best puppy I’ve ever met.”
“Glad it’s not just me. Landon keeps telling me that I’m biased.”
She scoffs, cupping Cora’s face in her hands. “Well, my brother is an idiot.”
“Your words, not mine.” I throw my arms up in defense.
Ari shrugs unapologetically and continues whispering praises to my dog. As Cora rolls onto her back, silently demanding belly rubs, it dawns on me that this past hour with Arianna is the first time we’ve hung out alone and not had sex.
There haven’t been any awkward silences or moments where I wonder if she’s uncomfortable. Being around her now feels right.
And I don’t want it to end.
Shifting my weight from one foot to another, I swallow thickly and will myself to speak.
It’s not normally this difficult for me to talk to a woman. Granted, any “flirting” that I’ve done in the past two years hasbeen completely half-hearted and done when I knew without a doubt that nothing was gonna happen. Like last year when I could tell Greyson needed a nudge to make the moves on his girl. I had no issues telling her she was looking good. And I wasn’t lying. But it was done to push Grey in the right direction.
Now it’s just me and Ari. The last thing I want to do is something that would mess up whatever this is that we have going on.
That’s why I haven’t told her just how much I love being around her. How badly I ache to be more than just a sneaky fuck. I look forward to our stolen moments more than anything and I always crave more. Having this distance that’s grown over the last few months is killing me. All I can think about is when I’ll see her again.
However, the fear of telling her any of that and losing her completely is almost paralyzing.
“Do you wanna grab a bite to eat?” I manage to rush out while crossing my fingers behind my back. If she says no, I can play it off like it’s no big deal.
We’re just two friends out walking a dog…nothing more. It’s fine, totally and completely?—
“Only if it’s at the Mexican restaurant we passed on the way here. The margaritas they were serving have been on my mind for the last hour. Plus, they had outdoor seating, so we can keep Cora with us.”
All the breath leaves my lungs in a relieved exhale.
